
Glass 1-3''^ . 



Book .8 ^ ^ 



\4 






WASHINGTON'S RECEPTION 



BY 



I' 

THl: PEOPLE OF NEW JERSEY 

In 1789. 



/j^l^ 



BY 

WILLIAM S. STRYKER, 

ADJUTANT GENERAL OF NEW JERSEY 



PRINTED FOR PRIVATF. t/lSTlir;B'lMff'ci^'l', 



TRENTOV, X. J.: 
NAAR, DAY & NAAR, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 

1882. 



WASMWfiTMilAHA 



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Washington's Reception 

BY 

THE PEOPLE OF NEW JERSEY 

In K89. 



On the sixth da}' of April, 1789, the American Congress, 
in session at New York, declared George Washington, of 
Virginia, to have been elected the first President of the 
United States. On the fourteenth of that month the official 
notice was presented to him, and after only two days' pre- 
paration, he left with unfeigned reluctance, his quiet home 
life at Mount Vernon to guide the civil government of the 
country which his military skill had wrested from the 
dominion of a foreign power. 

It was the intention of General Washington to avoid any 
display on his passage through the States, but he soon 
found it impossible to prevent the demonstrations of affec- 
tion which the people eagerly bestowed upon him. At the 
very outset of his journey his neighbors in Alexandria 
gave him a public dinner, and his old personal friends 
took occasion to recite his worthy deeds in the past and 
their confident hopes that the future would show that he 
would still be a blessing to the land he had saved. 

At Baltimore another ovation was extended to him, and 
just below Chester, on the border line of Pennsylvania, he 
met a group of his army comrades, headed by the Quaker 
soldier, General Thomas Mifflin, then President of the Su- 



4 Washington's Reception' by the 

prerne Executive Council of tlie Commonwealth, and Gen- 
eral Arthur St. Clair. At Chester the procession formed 
and mounted on horseback and escorted by Captain Samuel 
Miles' Philadelphia City Troop, Washington passed under an 
arch decorated with laurel, at Gray's Ferry, on the Schuyl- 
kill river.^ He reached the city of Philadelphia about one 
o'clock, April 20thJ and was greeted with great enthusiasm 
and frequent shouts of "Long life to George Washington, 
the father of the people." He dined soon after at the City 
Tavern, Second street, above Walnut street, at a table 
spread for two hundred and fifty guests. Toasts in his 
honor were drank that afternoon and a display of fire- 
works was given in the evening. 

( About ten o'clock on the morning of April 21st, he left 
Philadelphia in the midst of a disagreeable rain. He was 
now riding in a close carriage, having as his companions 
Lieutenant Colonel David Humphreys, an aide-de-camp 
on his staff during the war and for some months a member 
of his own household at Mount Vernon, and Mr. Charles 
Thomson, the Secretary of the late Continental Congress. 
The Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse escorted them be- 
yond the limits of the city. 

It was about two o'clock that day when the carriage 
arrived at the old stone ferry house at Colvin's Ferry, now 
Morrisville. Here Patrick Colvin, the owner of the ferry, 
took charge of the Presidential party and personally ferried 
them over the Delaware river. At the Trenton landing, 
near the tavern of Rensselaer Williams, the party was met 
by General Philemon Dickinson, Major Richard Howell, 
afterward Governor of the State, Rev. James F. Armstrong,' 
Chief Justice David Brearley, Dr. Isaac Smith, and other 
leading citizens of Trenton. He was greeted also by "an 



People of New Jersey in 1789. 5^ 

admiring concourse" of the inhabitants of Bloomsbury 
and Lamberton, wiio had gathered on the river bank. 
Captain Bernard Hanlon's battery fired a salute, and the 
troop of horse, commanded by Captain Israel Carle, the 
light infantry companies of Captain Hanior, Captain Munn, 
Captain Abraham Claypoole and Captain Albemarle Col- 
lins, formed the escorting column into the village of Tren- 
ton. General Washington and his suite here mounted 
horses prepared for them, and in this manner proceeded 
up the Ferry Road and thence toward the bridge over the 
Assunpink Creek. 

The column started from the ferry at just three o'clock, 
and the following was the order of tlie procession: 
Party of Horse. 
The Light Infantry. 
His Excellency on horseback, attended by Mr. Secretary 
Thomson and Colonel Humphreys. 
The Light Horse. 
The Gentlemen of the town and neighborhood on horse- 
back. 

At the bridge over the creek the ladies of Trenton had 
formed a plan to testify to General Washington their ap- 
preciation of his noble deeds and the love which the whole 
nation felt for its great deliverer. Here he had captured a 
body of Hessian mercenaries, under Colonel Rail, who had 
done all that bad men could do to injure the good people ot 
the Jerseys. On this very spot he had withstood for hours 
the advance of the British, and afterward had performed 
one of the masterly movements of the war. During these 
eventful two weeks he had nearly freed the entire State of 
an insolent foe. In grateful memory of the successful issue 
of the revolutionary struggle the ladies prepared for Wash- 



6 Washington's Reception by the 

ington a reception which was peculiar in the good taste 
displayed, and which certainly was intensely gratifying to 
him. 

On the north side of the bridge an arch about twenty 
feet high was raised, supported on one side by seven and on 
the other by six pillars. The arch was nearly twenty feet 
wide and about twelve feet in length. Each of the thirteen 
pillars was entirely covered with masses of evergreens and 
wreaths of laurel, and the arches above were closely twined 
about with the same material, and festooned inside with 
long rones of laurel and the flowers of early spring. On 
the south side of the archway, the pide which first appeared 
to the Presidential party, an inscription in large gilt letters 
on a blue ground was fastened, and beautifully ornamented 
with flowers : 
"the defender of the mothers will be the protector 

OF THE daughters." 

Above this arch was a circlet of laurels and flowers, 
wreathing the dates of those two events just referred to : 
"December 20, 1776— January 2, 1777." 

On the top of this mass of evergreens was a large sun- 
flower, which was intended to embleinize the American 
people, who turned toward him as the only Sun which 
would give life and warmth to the body politic. 

The structure had been erected the day previous by 
workmen in charge of Benjamin Yard, and the ladies had 
been busy all the morning putting in position the wreaths 
and emblems which they had with such taste prepared. 
Beneath this arch General Washington must pass to enter 
Trenton. 

As he came to the high ground on Mill Hill, some two 
hundred yards below the creek, the beautiful triumphal 



People op New Jersey in 1789. 7 

arch appeared. But as he passed through the archwaj' with 
uncovered head a still more lovely sight greeted him On 
the one side of the arch he saw six little girls dressed in 
white carrying baskets of flowers; on the other side, thir- 
teen young ladies to represent the several States, who were 
dressed in a similar style, and also had baskets filled with 
flowers. Behind all these a number of the matrons of the 
town and neighboring villages. 

As Washington entered the arch the six little girls began 
to sing a beautiful ode which had been written by Major 
Richard Howell, and which, under the instruction of Rev. 
James F. Armstrong, they performed with exquisite sweet- 
ness : 

Welcome, mighty Chief! once more 
Welcome to this grateful shore! 
Now no mercenary foe 
Aims again the fatal blow — 
Aims at thee the fatal blow. 

Virgins fair, and Matrons grave, 
Those thy conquering arms did save. 
Build for thee triumphal bowers. 
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers — 
Strew your Hero's way with flowers ! 

The first four lines were sung by both matrons and young 
ladies, the young ladies sang the fifth line, the matrons the 
first part and the young ladies the last part of the sixth 
line, then both sang the two next lines, the matrons the 
ninth, the young ladies the tenth line. 

His horse paced slowly through the arch, and as the last 
two lines of the ode were sung the pathway' was strewn 
with flowers by the young ladies and little girls. General 
Washington bowed frequently on either side in response to 
this novel greeting, and his deep emotion could not in the 
least be concealed. 



8 Washingtc^n's Reception by the 

From all the information which could be obtained from 
one of the participants in this reception who was living in 
the year 1850, from one who died in 1864 and another in 
1871, from others who remember to have seen it, and from 
tradition in the families of Trenton, it is believed that- the 
following were the Matrons who assembled at the house of 
James Ewing, now the southwest corner of Greene and 
Washington streets, and who took charge of the beautiful 
ceremonies on that occasion : 

Mrs. Susannah Armstrong, wife of Rev. James F, Arm- 
strong. She was the daughter of Robert James Livingston, 
of New York, was born February 13, 1758, and was married 
in Princeton, where her widowed mother then resided, by 
Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, August 22, 1782, to Mr. Armstrong. 
He was a very ardent patriot, had served in the war as a 
Chaplain of Maryland troops, was then pastor of the Pres- 
byterian Church of Trenton, and was a great personal 
friend of Washington. He died January 19, 1816, and she 
survived him until February 13, 1851. (Hall's History of 
Presbyterian Church, at Trenton.) 

Mrs. Mary Borden, widow of Captain Joseph Borden, Jr., 
of Bordentown. Mrs. Borden was the daughter of Lang- 
horn Biles, of Morrisville, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and 
her mother was the sister of Colonel Joseph Kirkbride, a 
prominent citizen of that county. The village of Borden- 
town was named after the grandfather of Captain Bofden. 
Captain Joseph Borden, Jr., was the gallant commanding 
officer of a troop of light horse of Burlington county. He 
received a musket ball wound at the battle of Gerraantown, 
while acting as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Forman, 
from which he never fully recovered, and he died October 
16, 1788, at the age of only thirty-three. (Woodward's 
History of Bordentown.) 



People of New Jersey in 1789. 9 

Mrs. Susannah Calhoun, wife of Alexander Calhoun. 
She was the daughter of John Cliambers, of Trenton ; was 
born November 30, 1761, and died in the same house, on 
the Pennington road in which she was born, at the age of 
sixty-three. Mr. Calhoun was a prominent merchant in 
the city. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Chambers was also the wife of a well 
known merchant of Trenton, Mr. Alexander Chambers. 
They resided on the corner of what is now State and Wil- 
low streets. She died July 11, 1806, and is buried in the 
Presbyterian Churcliyard. 

Mrs. Esther Cox, wife of Colonel John Cox, of Blooms- , 
bury farm. She was the daughter of Francis and Rachel 
Bowes, and was married to Mr. Cox, November 16, 1760. 
He was, before the war, a merchant in Philadelphia, but 
his health failing he removed to a beautiful farm on the 
banks of the Delaware, near Trenton. He returned to 
Philadelphia in 1790, and died there April 28, 1793. He 
was a man of great integrity, and his family were in fre- 
quent social intercourse with General and Mrs. Washington. 
Mrs. Cox died February 10, 1814. 

Mrs. Mary Dickinson, wife of General Philemon Dick- 
inson. General Dickinson married first Mar}'' Cadwalader, 
who died August 5. 1791. He afterwards married her 
sister Rebecca, who was born in 1747. Both of these ladies 
were daughters of Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, who married in 
Quaker style at Trenton, Hannah, daughter of Thomas 
Lambert. In 1748, Dr. Cadwalader was First Chief Burgess 
of the borough of Trenton, and in 1750 he moved to Phila- 
delphia. He had two sons. Colonel Lambert and General 
John Cadwalader, celebrated as gallant officers in the Rev- 
olutionary struggle. General Dickinson was the comman- 



10 Washington's Reception by the 

der of the New Jersey Militia during the whole period of 
the war, and distinguished himself in many battles, partic- 
ularly at Monmouth. He lived at " The Hermitage," on 
the River road, used by the Hessians in December, 1776, 
as a picket post. He died February 4, 1809. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Ewing, wife of James Ewing. She was 
a sister of Dr. James Tate, of Newtown, Bucks county, 
Pennsylvania. Mr. Ewing was a prominent citizen of 
Trenton, having held many offices of trust under Congress. 
He was the father of Chief Justice Charles Ewing. He died 
October 23, 1823. (Hall's History of Presbyterian Church 
of Trenton.) 

Mrs. Sarah Furman, wife of Moore Furman. He was 
Deputy Quartermaster General of New Jersey during the 
war. He died March 16, 1808, in his eightieth year. He 
was a faithful patriot, and greatly intrusted by the Govern- 
ment and by Washington during the Revolution. Before 
the war he was the junior partner of the mercantile house 
of Reed & Furman in Philadelphia — Mr. Andrew Reed 
being the father of General Joseph Reed, at one time the 
Adjutant General of the Continental Army, Mrs. Furman 
was the eldest daughter of Townsend White, of Philadel- 
phia, born in May, 1742, and married to Mr. Furman in 
Christ Church, March 17, 1767. Her father, her brothers 
and her sister were all loyalists, but her own and her hus- 
band's patriotism was pure and well-known. Miss Ann 
White, her sister, was one of the "Ladies of the Blended 
Rose," with Captain, afterward Earl Cathcart, as her knight, 
at the famous Mischianza Tourney and Fete, in Philadel- 
phia, May 18, 1778. 

Mrs. Susanna Gordon, wife of Peter Gordon. He was 
connected with the Quartermaster's Department during the 



People of New Jersey in 1789. 11 

Revolutionary War, and was afterward Treasurer of the 
State. Mrs. Gordon was tlie sister of Abraham Hunt, of Tren- 
ton. She died July 18, 1823. Major Gordon died at Geneva, 
New York, in February, 1835, at the age of eighty-six. 

Mrs. Mary Hanna, wife of Rev. John Hanna, of Bethle- 
hem, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Rev, James 
McCrea, a Scotch divine, who was pastor of the Presbyte- 
rian Church at Lamington, Somerset county, New Jersey. 
She had, it is stated, three brothers who died in the mili- 
tary service, two killed at the battle of Saratoga, and one 
who died of wounds received in a skirmish with the British. 
She was the sister of Jane McCrea, whose murder by the 
Indians near Fort Edward, on the Hudson river, July 27, 
1777, did so much to arouse the patriotism of the people in 
the fall of that year. Mary McCrea was married in 1762 
to Rev. John Hanna, at Bethlehem, Hunterdon county. 
Mr. Hanna was a physician as well as a minister, (Blane's 
Medical History of Hunterdon County.) 

Mrs. Sarah How, wife of Micajah How. He was one of 
the Judges of the C-ourt of Common Pleas of the county, 
and at one time High Sheriff under the. Colonial Govern- 
ment. He died January 14, 1799. 

Mrs. Keziah B. Howell, wife of Richard Howell. She 
was the daughter of Joseph Burr, of Burlington county, 
and married Mr. Howell in November, 1779, She died 
August 9, 1835, at Pittsburg, Pa, He was a Major of Colo- 
nel Israel Shreve's Battalion of New Jersey Continental Line 
during the war, and was Governor of the State from 1793 
to 1801. He commanded the New Jersey Militia sent into 
Pennsylvania to suppress the Whisky Insurrection in 1794. 
He died in Trenton May 5, 1803, at the age of forty-nine. 
(Elmer's Reminiscences of New Jersey.) 



12 Washingtoii^s Reception by the 

Mrs. Mary Hunt, wife of Abraham Hunt, Miss Mary 
Dagworthy, daughter of Sheriff Dagworthy, was one of the 
most zealous of all the patriotic ladies of the town. She 
was at the head of every organization to make supplies for 
the wounded in hospitals, and her efforts never flagged 
during all the years of the war. She married the rich mer- 
chant, Abraham Hunt, who was for mau}'^ years the Post- 
master of the village, and she died April 4, 1814, at the age 
of sixty-six. 

Mrs. Esther Lowrey, wife of Colonel Thomas Lowrey, of 
Fleraington. She was the daughter of Samuel Fleming 
who founded the village of Flemington in the year 1756. 
Her husband was born in Ireland April 3, 1737, and 
came to America with the father of Governor William Pat- 
erson. He commanded the Third Regiment, Hunterdon 
County Militia, during the Revolutionary War, and was 
distinguished as a patriot and a soldier. He was a member 
of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1775. Tradi- 
tion says his wife was fourteen years old when he married 
her, and he but seventeen. Colonel Lowrey was a promi- 
nent man in the village and an extensive land owner. He 
died at Alexandria, Hunterdon county, N. J., November 10, 
1809. Mrs. Lowrey was born April 15, 1739, and died Octo- 
ber 12, 1814. (Mott's History of Presbyterian Church, 
Flemington.) 

Mrs. Sarah Milnor, wife of Joseph Milnor. She was the 
daughter of Joseph Higbee, Sr., and sister of Joseph and 
Charles Higbee, both well known citizens of Trenton. Her 
husband was a prominent merchant of Trenton. 

Mrs. Ann Richmond, wife of Jonathan Richmond. She 
was the sister of Captain Albemarle Collins, a gallant sol- 
dier of the war. Her husband was Barrack Master of the 



PEorLE OF New Jersey in 1789. 13 

American Array, and he kept the inn on Mill Hill, where 
Washington had his headquarters January 2, 1777. Mrs. 
Richmond was alwaj's known as a very patriotic lady. She 
was buried in the Friends' burial ground in Trenton. 

Mrs. Mary Smith, wife of Isaac Smith. She died in 
,1801, and her tombstone bears the inscription: "She was 
what a woman ought to be." Her husband was Colonel of 
the First Regiment of Hunterdon County Militia, a Justice 
of the Supreme Court, President of the Trenton Banking 
Company, and a physician by profession. He died AugU'st 
20, 1807. 

Mrs. Rachel Stevens, wife of Colonel John Stevens, who 
served in the Hunterdon County Militia during the war, 
and in 1777 was Treasurer of the State. She was the daugh- 
ter of John Cox, of Bloomsbury Farm. She w^as born 
November 16, 1761, and died December, 1840.. 

Mrs. Annis Stockton, widow of Richard Stockton. She 
was Miss Annis Boudinot, sister of Hon. Elias Boudinot, 
President of the Continental Congress, and of Judge Elisha 
Boudinot, of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. She was 
a lady of great culture of mind, fine literary taste, firm in 
her patriotism, eminent in her piety. Her husband was 
born in Princeton, October 1, 1730, and in 1774 was a Judge 
of the Supreme Court of the Province. On June 22, 1776, 
he was chosen a delegate to the Continental Congress, and 
was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. During 
the war he was captured by a party of royalists, confined in 
the jail at Perth Amboy, and afterward in New York. This 
greatly impaired his health, and he died in Princeton, Feb- 
ruary 28, 1781. (Hageman's Princeton and its Institutions. 
Ellet's Women of the Revolution.) 

Mrs. Catherine Stockton, wife of Samuel Witham 



14 Washington'^ Reception by the 

Stockton and daugliter of John Cox. She was born July 
27, 1764, and married Mr. Stockton, December, 1785. He 
held a position in the diplomatic service abroad during the 
war, and at one time was Secretary of State of New Jersey. 
He was accidentally killed June 27, 1795. After his death 
Mrs. Stockton married the Rev. Nathaniel Harris. 

Mrs. Jane Tate, wife of Dr. James Tate, of Newtown, 
Pennsylvania. Both the Doctor and his wife were frequent 
visitors at James Ewing's house in Trenton. Dr. Tate 
received his medical education in Europe. He married 
Miss Jane Keith, a lady greatly celebrated for her personal 
beauty, a daughter of William Keith, a merchant of Phila- 
delphia, whose wife was a daughter of Dr. Samuel Ormes, 
once Colonial Secretary of North Carolina and a signer of 
the non-imp^ortation resolutions of the Philadelphia mer- 
chants. Dr. Tate died at his residence, near Newtown, 
about the year 1814, and his widow survived him until 
November 11, 1852. 

Mrs. Grace Woodruff, daughter of Colonel Thomas 
Lowrey, of Flemington. She married Aaron Dickinson 
Woodruff, September 14, 1786. She died at Trenton, June 
23, 1815. Mr. Woodruff was born September 12, 1762, 
graduated at Princeton College in 1779, and held the office 
of Attorney General of the State from 1793 until his death, 
June 24, 1817, one year excepted. He was a counselor of 
great professional ability and incorruptible integrity. 

With these matrons were thirteen young ladies, who rep- 
resented the several States. It is believed the following is 
a correct list : 

1. Miss Eleanor Armstrong, daughter of Rev. James F. 
Armstrong. She married Chief Justice Charles Ewing in 



People of New Jersey in 1789. 15 

the year 1803. He was appointed Chief Justice of New 
Jersey October, 1824, and died of cholera August 5, 1832. 
He had a vigorous intellect, was a profound jurist and 
accomplished scholar, and he had in an eminent degree 
the respect and confidence of the people. 

2. Miss Elizabeth Borden, only daughter of Captain 
Joseph Borden, Jr., of Bordentown, New Jersey. She 
married Mr. Azariah Hunt, of Hopewell township, Mercer 
county. She was about thirteen years of age in 1789. 

3. Miss Elizabeth Cadwalader was the sister of General 
John Cadwalader, and was visiting her sister, Mrs. General 
Dickinson, at the time of the reception. She was twenty- 
eight years of age, and she died unmarried April 13, 1799. 

4. Miss Catherine Calhoun, daughter of Alexander 
Calhoun. She married Daniel Baker, who was for many 
years Keeper of the New Jersey State Arsenal, and an 
Ensign in Captain Wall's Company in the war of 1812. 

5. Miss Esther Cox, daughter of Colonel John Cox, of 
Bloomsbur}^ Farm. She was born August 23, 1767, married 
Matthew Barton, and died October, 1848. 

6. Miss Mary Cox, another daughter of Colonel John 
Cox. She married James Chestnut, of Camden, South 
Carolina, September 20, 1796, and was. the mother of Hon. 
James Chestnut, for many years a United States Senator 
from that State. She v/as born March 22, 1775, and died 
near Camden, S. C, March 13, 1864. When her father 
moved to Philadelphia she was accustomed to attend Lady 
Washington's drawing-room receptions and she was present 
at a complimentary ball given to President Washington on 
his birthday in 1796, a few months before her own marriage. 

7. Miss Mary Dickinson, daughter of General Philemon 
Dickinson, was in her 21st vear at the time we allude to. 



16 Washington-'^ Reception by the 

She married October 10, 1803, George Fox, of Philadelphia, 
a gentleman of Quaker family. 

8. Miss Maria Furman, daughter of Moore Furman, 
whose wife has been referred to. She married Peter Hunt, 
of Lamberton. He was a prominent citizen, and in 1804 
was appointed Adjutant General of the State, and held that 
office until his death in Charleston, South Carolina, March 
11, 1810. She died October 8, 1816. 

9. Miss Mary C. Keen, daughter of Jacob Keen of Tren- 
ton, a gallant soldier in the Revolutionary war. Her 
mother, Hannah Keen, was noted for piety and for her zeal 
in behalf of the Baptist Church. She was born February 
3, 1766; married John Scudder, of Scudders Falls, Mercer 
county. New Jersey, November 21, 1791, and died April 16, 
1839. 

10. Miss Mary Lowrey, daughter of Colonel Thomas 
Lowrey, of Flemington. She was born July 30, 1775, 
married George Henry, April 14, 1795, and died in Trenton, 
January 23, 1804. 

11. Miss Maria Meredith, daughter of Samuel Meredith, 
of Philadelphia. He was a Major in the Philadelphia Bat- 
talions of Associators in the Revolutionary War, and was 
the first Treasurer of the United States. Miss Meredith 
died unmarried. At the time of the reception she was 
visiting at the residence of General Dickinson. 

12. Miss Sarah Moore, daughter of Nathaniel Moore, of 
Trenton. Her father lived at the landing at Beatty's Ferry. 
She was born July 22, 1778, and married, first, Stewart Wil- 
son about 1795, who died in 1798. She married, second, 
Jonathan Hand, of Cape May, July 25, 1802, and they were 
the ancestors of the large family of that name in that 
county. She died April 3, 1871, in her 93d year. 



People of New Jersey in 1789. 17 

13. Miss Margaret Tate, sister of Dr. James Tate, of 
Newtown, Pennsylvania, whose wife and married sister 
have been heretofore mentioned. 

The six little girls who sang the ode of welcome to Gen- 
eral Washington were — 

1. Miss Sarah Airy, daughter of Cornelius Airy, of 
Elizabeth Town. Her mother was a sister of Benjamin 
Smith, a well-known merchant of Trenton. She lived with 
Mr. Smith, who had no children, until 1814, when he re- 
moved to Elizabeth Town, and* she died at his house there, 
never having married. 

2. Miss Jemima Broadhurst, daughter of Joseph Broad- 
hurst, was born in Amwell township, Hunterdon county, 
March 9, 1782, and in 1789 was at school in Trenton. She 
married Joshua S. Anderson, of Trenton, in 1805. In 
after years they removed to Philadelphia, and she died 
there December 10. 1839. She is buried in the churchyard 
of the First Presbyterian Church, Trenton. 

3. Miss Sarah Collins, daughter of Isaac Collins. Her 
father was a printer, who came from Burlington to Trenton 
in 1778 and removed to New York in 1786. Her mother 
was the great-granddaughter of Mali Ion Stacy. 

4. Miss Sarah How, daughter of Micajah How. Her 
parents have been before referred to. She never married, 
and is buried in the old graveyard attached to the Metho- 
dist Church at Pearsonville, Mercer county. 

5. Miss Sarah B. Howell, daughter of Major Richard 
Howell. She was born August 5, 1783, and married Dr. 
James Agnew, of Princeton, N. J., in January, 1806, and 
died August 3, 1868, nearly 85 years of age. She is the 
mother of the distinguished jurist, Chief Justice Daniel 



18 Washington's Reception by the 

Agnew. Dr. Agnew was a graduate of Princeton College 
in 1795 and of the University of Pennsylvania at Phila- 
delphia. He died at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, January 13, 
1840. 

6. Miss Elizabeth Milnor, daughter of Joseph Milnor. 
She married Lucius Horatio Stockton, son of Richard 
Stockton, the "Signer." Mr. Stockton was an eminent law- 
yer, and at one time District Attorney of New Jersey. Presi- 
dent John Adams, in 1801, nominated him to be Secretary 
of War. He was an ardent politician, and very eccentric in 
his manners. He died May 26, 1835. 

After the tribute of respect at the archway, the escort pro- 
ceeded to Samuel Henry's City Tavern, on the southwest 
corner of Second and Warren streets, where General Wash- 
ington dined with the principal citizens of the place and 
held a reception in the parlors of the inn. 

Late in the afternoon he took carriage for Princeton, the 
Rev. Mr. Armstrong accompanying him that far on his 
journey. It is generally understood that they spent that 
night at the residence of the President of the College, the 
Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon, 

During the afternoon a copy of the song with which the 
little girls had greeted him at the Trenton bridge had been 
given him, and he handed Mr. Armstrong that evening the 
following letter : 




People of New Jersey in 1789. 19 

/^S /cTytc^^^ <^^£/ ^a- j^ C^Cpt^^ ^^J^^ ^%jeJ^ A.-.C'^^*^ 



P/-^ 



20 Washington's •Reception by the 

This letter was read the following afternoon at a gather- 
ing of ladies at the residence of Dr. Isaac Smith, en King, 
now Warren street, the property now covered b}'- the Amer- 
ican Hotel. The ladies were all greatly pleased with this 
elegant response to their patriotic testimonial. It certainly 
expressed in brief language the feelings which must have 
filled his breast while passing over such historic ground. 
The letter was afterwards printed and each lady received a 
copy. The note was preserved in the family of Dr. Smith 
and then passed into the famil}'' of Chief Justice Ewing, 
and is to-day carefully preserved by the daughter of Rev, 
Mr. Armstrong in Trenton. One of the arches has also been 
kept in possession of the same family. 

At eleven o'clock on the morning of April 22d, General 
Washington bade farewell to his host, the learned divine, 
and leaving Nassau Hall took the old road to Brunswick. 
Here he was met by William Livingston, the war Governor 
of the State, and they rode on to Woodbridge, where they 
spent the night, it is generally thought, at John Manning's 
Inn. 

On the morning of Thursday, April 23d, a number of 
military companies, among which were Captain Condict's 
Company, of Newark, Captain Wade's Company, of Con- 
necticut Farms, and Captain Meeker's Company, of Eliza- 
beth Town, marched to Bridgetown, lower Rahway, and 
with a considerable number of the citizens of the neighbor- 
hood, met the General and escorted him into Elizabeth 
Town, where he "received a federal salutation." General 
Matthias Ogden, the commanding oificer of the First Regi- 
ment, Continental Line of New Jersey during the war, was 
in charge of the procession, and he took him, about nine 
o'clock, "amidst festive throngs of numerous spectators," to 



People of New Jersey in 1789. 21 

the hotel of Samuel Smith, now a part of the Sheridan 
House, where he held a brief reception for the citizens of 
Elizabeth Town. At the tavern he partook of a repast pro- 
vided by the good people of the village, and he then pro- 
ceeded to the elegant mansion of the Hon. Elias Boudinot, 
where he met the Committee of Congress. This Committee 
Consisted of 

John Langdon, of New Hampshire, 

Charles Carroll, of Maryland, 

William S. Johnson, of Connecticut, 
Of the Senate. 

Elias Boudinot, of New Jersey, 

Egbert Benson, of New York, 

Theodorick Bland, of Virginia, 

Thomas Tudor Tucker, of South Carolina, 

John Lawrence, of New York, 

Of the House of Representatives. 
After spending a half hour at Dr. Boudinot's residence, 
he rode to Elizabeth Town Point, attended by a vast con- 
course of people. He then reviewed the escorting troops 
and took leave of the party of Jerseymen. 

With the Committee referred to. Colonel Humphreys and 
Mr. Thomson, about twelve o'clock, noon, he entered a 
large boat elegantly adorned, and manned by thirteen skill- 
ful pilots of the harbor, all dressed in white sailor costume, 
Thomas Randall acting as cockswain. 

A large number of smaller boats, handsomely festooned, 
accompanied him, flags were flying from every vessel in 
the bay, and with vocal and instrumental music, with the 
discharge of artillery, and the loud welcome of tlie people, 
lie reached Murray's Wharf, now Wall street, in the city of 
New York, between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. 



22 Washington's "Reception in 1789. 

Here he was received by George Clinton, the Governor of 
the State, and Richard Varick, the Mayor of the city, and 
on April 30th he was inaugurated the first President of the 
United States. 



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